Ultraviolet light can damage DNA molecules. If a cell's DNA repair mechanisms can't keep up with the damage, mutations are the result. As harmful mutations accumulate, the cell eventually dies. How much ultraviolet light is too much for a bacterial cell?
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MicroBio_p017

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Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

To do this project, you will need access to a laboratory with facilities for culturing bacteria. You should be familiar with sterile technique and proper handling of bacterial cultures.

Most of the ultraviolet (UV) light produced by the Sun is blocked by the atmosphere, but some UV light does still reach Earth. It can be detected using electronic devices, but can also be detected with something called UV beads. UV beads contain a pigment that changes color when they are exposed to ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. In this chemistry science fair project, you will use UV beads to study how temperature affects the rate at which they lose their color.
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Chem_p088

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Time Required

Short (2-5 days)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

You will need to order UV beads online. See the Materials and Equipment list for details.

What do humans need to survive? We need food, water, and warm shelter. We all need a warm place to live, particularly when it's chilly outside. How do many of us warm our houses or apartments? We depend on fossil fuels to supply gas and electricity to our heaters. But burning fossil fuels to create energy is harmful to the environment. What if there was a way to warm our homes without burning fossil fuels and it was free? In this science fair project, you will build a solar air heater and see…
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EnvEng_p028

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Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

Readily available

Cost

Average ($50 - $100)

Safety

You need to cut cardboard for this project and use paint. Always exercise caution when using a sharp knife and scissors. Paint in an area with good ventilation.

Would you like some sky vegetables for dinner? How about some fresh-cut roof flowers to put in vases in your house? Around the world, rooftops are being transformed into living green expanses. Besides beauty, rooftop gardens have a number of advantages, including growing food and taking carbon dioxide out of the air while releasing breathable oxygen. But can rooftop gardens also keep your house cooler and lower your energy bill? Try this science fair project to find out.
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Though the Sun provides heat and light, which are essential for life on Earth, ultraviolet (UV) rays in sunlight can cause damage to DNA. In this science fair project, you will experiment with a strain of yeast that is super-sensitive to UV light. This project will demonstrate the lethal effects of UV light when DNA damage is not repaired.
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BioChem_p036

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Time Required

Long (2-4 weeks)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

You will need to order a UV-sensitive yeast kit online. See the Materials and Equipment list for details. Note: You might have to have the yeast delivered to a school if the company does not deliver to residential addresses.

You have probably heard about using renewable energy sources like wind and solar power to provide electricity to homes and buildings, as well as hybrid or fully electric cars that use less (or zero) gasoline. But what about solar-powered robots? As robots become more common, it is increasingly important to use "green" energy sources to power them. In this project, you will build and test a popular robot called a bristlebot — a tiny robot made using toothbrushes—that can operate on…
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Robotics_p026

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Time Required

Short (2-5 days)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

A kit containing all the electronics parts needed for this project can be found in the [# Link Name="Robotics_p026.1" Value="HtmlAnchor" #].

Does your skin get dry? Or do you know someone with dry skin? Dry skin can be a real medical problem for some people. You may have seen many kinds of lotions, creams, and ointments advertised as restorative for dry skin, especially dry hands. But how well do they work? And which ingredients are most important in making them work? In this science project, you will create a model of human skin using JELL-O® and test how well skin moisturizing products with different ingredients keep the…
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BioMed_p015

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Time Required

Long (2-4 weeks)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

You will need to purchase petri dishes online. See the Materials and Equipment list for details.

"How do you frighten a grasshopper? And what does that have to do with light?" These are a couple of questions you're probably asking yourself after reading the title. Well, The Frightened Grasshopper Solar-Powered Bug is actually a toy grasshopper that vibrates when it is placed in sunlight or near a lightbulb. It stores up the energy from light, and converts it into motion. You will use this fun toy to explore how the brightness of the light affects the motion of the solar-powered insect.
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Elec_p061

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Time Required

Very Short (≤ 1 day)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

The Frightened Grasshopper toy needs to be ordered from online. See the Materials and Equipment list for details.

Cost

Low ($20 - $50)

Safety

Adult supervision is required. The lightbulbs will be hot, so use caution to avoid getting burned by the bulbs. The Frightened Grasshopper toy should be assembled with the help of an adult since it is fragile and has some small parts.

What is the first thing you do when you wake up on a cold, frosty morning? Snuggle down deeper under the covers? Animals, like puppies and piglets, do not like being cold either, but they do not have hands or blankets to wrap themselves up. So when animals get chilled, they change their behavior and do things like huddle—they curl up close to other animals. In this mammalian biology science fair project, you will see just how much huddling can help reduce heat loss.
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MamBio_p027

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Time Required

Average (6-10 days)

Prerequisites

None

Material Availability

Readily available

Cost

Low ($20 - $50)

Safety

Use caution when handling glass jars or thermometers, as they can break or crack if dropped. Adult supervision is required when using the stove.

You can find this page online at: http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/search.shtml?v=solt&pi=HumBio_p028

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